Value, values, symbols and outcomes

Selective Multiculturalism? Symbols of Ethnic Identity and Core Values Theory

This paper is a retrospective critique of the sociological theory of Symbols of Ethnic Identity and Core Values developed by Jerzy Smolicz, and the social milieu in which it took place. The theory claimed to be based on the inductive, humanistic sociology approach of Florien Znaniecki. It was concerned with ascribing language and ideological values to the identity of students from migrant famil...

Epistemic values and the value of learning

In addition to purely practical values, there are cognitive values which figure in scientific deliberations. One way of introducing cognitive values is to consider the cognitive value that accrues to the act of accepting a hypothesis. Although such values may have a role to play in the matter of theory acceptance, this does not exhaust their significance in scientific decision-making. This pape...

Symbolic Values, Value Formation and Interpersonal Relations

Symbolic Values, Value Formation and Interpersonal Relations Interpersonal relations are shaped by the judgements associated with the social categories that individuals perceive in their social contacts. I develop a model of how those judgments form based on a theory of symbolic values. The model depicts the interaction between two values, one associated with an inherited ethnic trait (“nationa...

Religious Symbols and Religious Garb in the Courtroom: Personal Values and Public Judgments

Defining Human Values for Value Learners

Hypothetical “value learning” AIs learn human values and then try to act according to those values. The design of such AIs, however, is hampered by the fact that there exists no satisfactory definition of what exactly human values are. After arguing that the standard concept of preference is insufficient as a definition, I draw on reinforcement learning theory, emotion research, and moral psych...